Gadhafi's Troops Advance on Rebel-Held Cities as U.N. OKs No-Fly Zone

The sooner the 'intervention' begins the better, it will more than likely pull the Libyan military away from the rebel cities.


"No occupying forces" were words in the UN Resolution. President Obama is magnificent. I am grateful to Secretary Clinton for 'being there' and conducting the direction of this initiative. UN Ambassador Rice is awesome.

I sincerely believe at this point it is best for the rebels to find areas of shelter and wait for their freedom to be delivered. The onslaught that is about to commence is not the kind of weapons they are used to seeing in Libya and they may over estimate their ability to be discerned from targets.


THE REBELS NEED TO GET OUT OF THE WAY !!!!!!

17 March 2011 Last updated at 20:54 ET

Libya unrest: UK reaction to UN vote in quotes (click title to entry - thank you)

..."We have said for a long time that there should be three criteria for being able to take action under this kind of authorisation - a demonstrable need, and the actions and statements of the Gaddafi regime in recent days have provided that demonstrable need; secondly, a clear legal basis, this is the clear legal basis in a resolution of the United Nations Security Council; and third, broad support from within the region itself, and that is evident in the statement of the Arab League and the readiness to participate in a no-fly zone.
As of tonight, those three criteria are satisfied and fulfilled....

TODAY,  WORDS  BECOME  A  NEW  REALITY.

Carrie Prejean Threatens To Leave Larry King's 'Inappropriate' Interview

Donald Trump has a liability as he states he can out fund any other candidate in a run for President of the USA. He may not be able to just 'deal away' this Right Wing Former Miss USA.

Ms. Prejean would have to endorse 'The Don" and if she did;  it will be problematic in the general election.

...King asked Prejean (click title to entry - thank you) why she agreed to strike a deal with the Pageant and drop her claims of libel, slander and religious discrimination.

"Why settle since you had a fight to carry on?" King pressed.


Prejean demurred.


King asked again: "You can't even say why you settled?"...

Minutes Silence in European Parliament, as Japan dominates concerns

International Atomic Energy Agency admit worry over Japan situation

The IAEA considers the circumstances in Japan serious.

The damaged number 4 unit of the Fuhushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex in Japan on Tuesday, March 15, 2011.

"...The situation is very serious," Amano, (click title to entry - thank you) who is Japanese said to the damages at the core of reactors 1,2 and 3.

Nevertheless, with workers engaged in an-all out effort to stabilize the situation, Amano stressed thta "it is not the time to say things are out of control...."

There are currently 2 missing employees and the remaining employees rotating through the site are concerned for their lives, but, they persist in carrying out efforts to stop further nuclear contamination.

March 13 - 19 is "Sunshine Week." It celebrates an open and transparent government or lack there of.

President Obama Promotes U.S.-India Partnership on Open Government  (click here)

Posted by DipNote Bloggers

November 08, 2010

As Samantha Power writes on the White House blog, President Obama attended an Expo on Democracy and Open Government in Mumbai, India, yesterday. The event highlights transparency, citizen participation, government responsiveness, and political accountability.

Before delivering his remarks, President Obama spent some time talking with expo participants and learning about their approaches to promoting open government....
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President Obama is being presented an award for his initative in Open Government.

White House Site for "Open Government Initiative."  (click here)

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The conference’s organizers (click here) are some of the nation’s most high-profile transparency advocates. Gary Bass is the founder and executive director of OMB Watch, Tom Blanton is director of the National Security Archive at the George Washington University, Danielle Brian runs the Project on Government Oversight, Lucy Dalglish is executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Patrice McDermott is director of Open The Government, a coalition of good-government groups.

“There is no question this is the first President in my experience who has personally elevated open government issues to the extent that Obama has,” Brian said in an e-mail. “That does not mean that the job is done, or that we will stop pushing for a lot more.”

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Section 1  (click title to entry - thank you) 

WHEREAS, James Madison, the father of our federal Constitution, wrote that “consent of the governed” requires that the people be able to “arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives,” and
WHEREAS, every citizen in our participatory democracy has an inherent right to access to government meetings and public records; and 

WHEREAS, an open and accessible government is vital to establishing and maintaining the people’s trust and confidence in their government and in the government’s ability to effectively serve its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the protection of every person’s right of access to public records and government meetings is a high priority of (name of governmental unit), and

WHEREAS, the (name of governmental unit) is committed to openness and transparency in all aspects of its operations and seeks to set a standard in this regard; and

NOW, THEREFORE, the (name of governmental unit) commits during this Sunshine Week, commemorating the 261st anniversary of James Madison’s birth, and throughout the year 2011 to work diligently to enhance the public’s access to government records and information, to increase information provided electronically and online, and to ensure that all meetings of deliberative bodies under its jurisdiction, and their committees, are fully noticed and open to the public....

Eric Cantor is incorrect.

The USA House is trying to be the tail that wags the dog.  The House Democrats will keep the government running and raise the debt ceiling if necessary.  Cantor could not be more incorrect.  Just because the Senate cannot resolve the budget for this year has no reality about the outcome of the government infrastructure and its funding.

 

We know what the Democrats are doing.  What are they suppose to do, become ideologues?  The House Democrats need to point to their constituents exactly how ludicrous the split is in the Republican ? majority ? and how it is their responsibility to keep the lights on.  It is not the fault of the Democrats if Republicans can't govern.

 

 

Posted at 03:22 PM ET, 03/16/2011

Cantor: Next step on government funding debate is up to Senate (click title to entry - thank you)

By Felicia Sonmez

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Wednesday that when it comes to figuring out a way forward on funding the federal government through the end of the fiscal year, the ball is in Senate Democrats’ court....

The difference between Republicans and Democrats can be summed up in to words.

In the case of the North Carolina legislation whereby an Emergency Room Physician could never be held liable for any actions it is easiest understood this way.

Republicans legislate because it can be done.

Democrats legislate because it should be done.

The difference between the two is morality.

The questions regarding this action by the House are simple.

House to Vote on Cutting off Funds for NPR (click title to entry - thank you)

House to vote on cutting off federal funding for National Public Radio

House Republicans are preparing another strike against public broadcasting with legislation to bar federal funding of National Public Radio and prohibit local public stations from using federal money to pay NPR dues....

What has NPR done that should remove vital funding from their programs?

Not a thing. 

So, how much has to be cut from their funding as well as every other item in the budget?

Nothing, although good politics dictates every item should receive a reduction.

Why nothing?

Because the small cuts that occur for ideological reasons won't make any difference in the final analysis of the economic recovery of the country and if anything at this point it would hurt.  The real CHANGES and not CUTS have to occur with entitlements that improve the long term deficit reduction in a real way.

Do we know exactly the best approach with entitlements?

No, altlhough changes from the past are a good guide post.

What about changes to the military budget?

There needs to be changes to the USA military budget to provide the ready force the USA needs to defend itself without having a military machine that dominates the priority of the country for political favors to cronies which in the past has lead to unnecessary wars.  It is immoral for the USA to have a mlitary that threatens global stability with the change in leadership at the federal level.  Any war the USA enters should require a concensus of support from the international community as was the case after September 11, 2001.

So, are the Repubican budget cuts moral and appropriate?

No.  They victimize citizens in the USA while providing very clear income increases to their wealthy cronies.

Is raising taxes back to Pre-Bush tax levels moral and appropriate for the most wealthy in the USA?

It is not only moral, it is appropriate and necessary.  Many of the wealthy in the USA have obtained their wealth through government initiatives and not sincerely because they invented the electric car.